It was not meant to be a test-drive of an autonomous vehicle. But the Driving Assist button on the steering wheel of the new BMW 330i was just too tempting. And there I found myself, on Sir Lowry’s Pass near Cape Town, “driving” with my arms folded while the vehicle negotiated curves on its own.
Every 10 seconds or so, yellow or red lights flashed to alert me to put my hands back on the wheel. The yellow lights meant the car wanted me to put my hands on the wheel, just to show that I was in control. The red lights meant that I had to take over control from the artificial intelligence built into the vehicle.
With co-driver Ernest Page, we negotiated a major highway, the bends of Sir Lowry’s pass, and the passes of Hell’s Heights (Hel se Hoogte) above the Cape Winelands.
As the above video of the experience reveals, it can be nerve-racking for someone who hasn’t experienced autonomous driving, or hasn’t been dreaming of testing it for many years. For this driver, it was exhilarating. Not because the car performed so magnificently, but because it tells us just how close true autonomous driving really is.
There was one nervous moment when the autonomous – or rather, Driving Assist – mode disengaged on Hell’s Heights, but fear not. A powerful sense of responsibility prevailed, and my hands hovered over the steering wheel as it took the curve. Assist disengaged, and the car began to veer towards the other side of the road. I quickly took over, and also sobered up from the giddiness of thinking I was already in the future.
In reality, Driving Assist is part of level 2 of driving autonomy, as defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers. A presentation on the evening of the test drive, by Edward Makwana, manager of group product communications at BMW Group in South Africa, summed up the five stages as the driver having Feet Off, Hands Off, Eyes Off, Mind off, and finally, only being a Passenger.
However, the extent to which the hands-off mode of Driving Assist mimics self-driving, and easily shows the way to eyes-off and mind-off, is astonishing.
Click here to read about the components that make the Driving Assist work.
It is made possible by a Driving Assist package that incorporates the following, as supplied by BMW:
- A camera-based systems Lane Departure Warning and approach control and person warning with light city braking function.
- The Lane Departure Warning detects lane markings and alerts the driver to an unintentional lane change at speeds above approx. 70 km/h by means of vibrations in the steering wheel. The warning is not activated if the lane change is deliberate, that is, when the indicator has been activated.
- Whereas the Approach control warning with light city braking function detects vehicles, the Person warning with light city braking function reacts to pedestrians. If a vehicle ahead brakes suddenly, the new BMW 3 Series responds immediately when the Approach control warning is activated.
- The system operates in steps. A warning symbol is first displayed, then the symbol begins flashing and an acoustic warning is emitted, and finally, the brakes are lightly applied (when travelling at speeds under 60 km/h).
- The warning operates at speeds between 10 and 60 km/h and emits a single-level warning in the event of acute danger. If the system warns of a potential collision, the brakes are simultaneously preconditioned for a faster response. In the event of an emergency, the system applies the brakes. This function can be limited by darkness and fog.
- Active cruise control with Stop&Go function, including radar-based Approach control warning with full deceleration function and braking, offers the option of greater comfort and safety in traffic jams. The system maintains a speed preselected by the driver, as well as the distance to the driver ahead. The vehicle takes over accelerating and braking and keeps the predetermined distance to the car ahead even in slow-moving traffic and down to a stand-still in traffic jams.
- If the car approaches the vehicle ahead of it, or if another vehicle enters the lane, the system precisely adjusts the speed to take the other vehicle into account. It can be activated at speeds of up to 210 km/h.
- The Stop&Go function not only automatically regulates speed down to a standstill, but it also automatically accelerates back up to the desired speed within a limited time frame as soon as traffic flow allows.
- If a vehicle ahead brakes suddenly, the BMW responds immediately when the Approach control warning is activated. The system operates in phases. A warning symbol is first displayed, then the symbol begins to flash and an acoustic warning is sounded, and finally, the brakes are applied sharply.